Tubular plate printing machines



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[lllvllll I v\ x 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 15, 1954 INVENTOR.

EMORY W. WORTHlNGTON' FRANK A. FOSTER CHARLES A. HARLESS ATTORNLEYS Sept 16, 1958 E. w. WORTHINGTON ETAL 2,

4 TUBULAR PLATE PRINTING MACHINES Filed Oct. 15, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 L INVENTOR.

EMORY W. WORTHINGTON FRANK A. FOSTER CHARLES A. HAR LESS BY AT ORN EYS Sept. 16, 1958 E w. WORTHINGTON ETAL 2,8 1,

TUBULAR PLATE PRINTING MACHINES Filed Oct. 15, 1954 A 4 Shets-Sheet s IN V EN TOR.

EMORY W. WORTHINGTON FRANK A. FOSTER CHARLES A. HARLESS BY r ATT'ORNEYSK p 1958 E. w. WORTHINGTON ETAL TUBULAR PLATE PRINTING MACHINES I 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 15, 1954 EHER . O W A "w w N K L vA W N M TUBULAR PLATE PRINTING Emory W. Worthington, DobbsFerry, 'N."Y.,:Frank A.

Foster, Quincy, Mich., and Charles A; Harless,*Riverside, Cnn., -assignors to R.-'Hoe"& Co., Inc., New York, :N. Y., a corporation-of New York Application October 15, 1954, Serial No..462,5.66

1 Claims. (Cl. Till- 219) This invention relates to printing machines, and, more particularly to tubular plate printingmac'hines.

Printing machines of the newspaper type are largely oftwo general types, so far as the printing cylinders are concerned. In .onetype of--machine,-referred to herein as standardfor brevity, each printing cylinder takes a pair of semi-cylindrical plates. aroundaits circumference, and holds twosuchpairs, making a total offouriplates in;all. In theother type ofmachine, the printingcylin- .dersare half theudiameter .of the printing cylinders in a standa'rdmaohineand theyare arrangedto receive tubular printing plates which extend substantiallyaround the cylinder. .The frame structure on one side -'of the tubular platemachine must provide, an open space foraxial insertion and removal ;of: the plates, .:which rare-substantially cylindrical, :and have only aqsmallggap between :the leading and gtrailingfidges. -;In :suchmaehines, a printing cylinder bearing isgenerallylocated-in;an offset position with reference :to the frame generally, beingsupported by a narrow neck or rib-which-canbe straddled by the gap in the plate, and whichmay be integral withthe frameror rbe partof a bracket attached to an edge of the frame.

1 In general, .thetubularplate machine is asmaller and less ,expensivepieeeof equipment, adapted to printproducts having fewer. pages, -and.is accordinglyused principally by smaller publications. As circulation andsize .ofproductincrease, apublication using a tubular plate press is faced with a, need for-expanding production capacity, which ordinarily must be satisfied-by .replacingthe .tubular plate printing units with standard units. For. the same number of cylinders, the: standard unithas capacity to-produce a-product of twice the number of pages, when printingone-up, and canalso produce the same product, when printing two-up, ,at twice the rate of the tubular plate machine, when running at an equal rate in terms of cylinder revolutions.

It is the general object of the present inventionjopmvide a printing machine. construction permitting conversion of a tubular plate machine to a standard machine, or vice versa, with minimum substitution of parts. In general, the conversion will be-from tubular, to standard, for reasons stated above. 7

'With the foregoing object, as well as others which will appear, a press construction embodying the inventionin a preferred form will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, and the features forming the invention will then be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is an and elevation, partly-broken away, of half of an arch type unit embodying the invention in a preferred form, and-showing theunit adapted to printing with standard size plate cylinders;

' Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the unitof Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation, similar to Fig, l, but showing the unit converted toprint with tubular printing plates;

ing a cylinder bearing support and the serting and-withdrawing a tubular plate;

ice

- D a 1 Fig. 4 is an-end elevation of the opposite, or foperating end of the unit of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged elevation of apart of Fig-4, showprovision for in- Fig. 6 is a sectionon the line 66 of Fig. 5;

"Fig. 7 isan elevation view of the operating end of a unit embodying the invention in a modified form, and showing it arranged for use with printingcylinders' for "standard plates;

Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7; "Figs. 9 and ,10 are views similar to .Figs. 7 and, 8, respectively, but showing the unit arranged for printing with cylinders for tubular plates; and

Figs. 11 and 12 are elevation views showing the drive or gear :end adapted to standard platesand tubular plates,

respectively.

Referring-now to Figs. 1 and 2, it may be noted that the construction may be identical (except in the features hereinafter pointed out), to that disclosed in prior Harless application, Ser. No. 336,235, filed February '11,v 1953, for PrintingUnit Drives. The present description will, accordingly, be confined to those features necessary. for

an understanding of the present invention, reference being made to the Harless application for any further details.

. Fig. 1' shows one half of an arch type unit, the omitted mechanism to the left of the indicated center line being Symmetrical and the same as that shown, except for the omission of the ,vertical drive shaft and certain gearing elements associated therewith.

The arch type frame structure of the machine of the invention comprises a lower U-shaped part 10 and an upper arch part'll removably supported thereby and fixed in position as by means of a tongue and groove engagement along the dividing line 12 and by bolts 13.

Ink drums 14 together with appropriate distributing and transfer rollers, as indicated, are supportedin the lower frame section 10 and the printing cylinder. 15, impressioncylinder 16 and form rollers 17 are supported in the upper frame section 11. .Details of the roller mountings andzink pump or fountain means for supplying ink to the .lower ink drum are not shown, as they formno part of the present invention and may take any convenient form. Reference may be made to prior Harless applications Ser. No. 344,444, filed November 24, 1953, for Ink Roller Mounting, Ser. No. 392,290, filed November '16, 1953, for Ink Motion Drive, and Ser. No. 421,379, filed April 6, .1954, for Ink RailWith Color Pump Attachment for illustrations of suitable forms for thevarious ink motion detailsnot shown herein.

, The unit drive is taken off a subjacent shaft 20, through bevel gears' 21, '22 and a vertical. shaft 23 which terminates in a bevel gear 24 driving a bevel gear 25 which carries a spurgear pinion 26 driving into a large gear 27 coaxial with impression cylinder 16. A similar gear 27, coaxial with the other impression cylinder 'of' the unit (not shown) isdriven by the gear 27. A smaller gear 28 also coaxial with impression cylinder 16, and idler 29 cooperating with a gear (notshown) coaxial with the otherirnpression cylinder, are also provided. "The drive for printing cylinder 15 is taken oh the gear 28 through a gearr30. Further gears 31 and 32 on the working side ,of themachine, serve todrive the ink motion. The manner ofrcouplinggand uncoupling these gears for driving the unit'in yarious ways is of no interest in the present connection-and is fully described in Harless application, Ser. No. 336,235, above-mentioned.

Vertical shaft 23-comprises an upper section and lower section joined together by a coupling 33, the lower shaft section being supported by a bracket 34 attached to the lower. frame. section 10 and the upper shaft section being A correspondingly smaller plate cylinder drive gear 130 is substituted for the gear 30. A shorter upper vertical shaft section 123 and housing 135 are also substituted for the corresponding upper shaft section and housing of Figs. 1 and 2. Correspondingly numbered parts, and their mounting elements for attachment to the frames may be the same in both cases.

In the section 111-a at the operating end of the unit, means is provided for permitting insertion and removal of the tubular plate, and this means is shown in detail in drieal bore 40 into which there is fitted a cylindrical plug 41 (Figs. 5 and 6) located angularly and axially as by means of a bolt 42 received in a bore 43 drilled in the frame section 111-a and plug 41, and by a nut 44 on the Figs. 5 and 6. The frame 111-a is formed with a cylin- T threaded end of the bolt. The plug 41 is formed with an x annular opening 45 which extends radially inward somewhat beyond the printing cylinder profile 46, and accommodates the tubular plate 47 permitting axial insertion and removal thereof. The opening 45 extends through less than a complete circle, leaving a neck or rib 48 of less angular extent than the plate gap and supporting the center part 49 of the plug 41. This center part 49 is formed with an eccentric cylindrical bore 50 rotatively receiving an eccentric bushing 51 having a bore 52 which supports the shaft 53 of printing cylinder 115.

Attached to, or formed integral with, the eccentric bushing 51 is a flange or plate 61) having a pair of outwardly or axially projecting extensions 61 having threaded bores receiving opposed screws 62 whose ends abut against a block 63 carried by the center part 49 of the plug 41. By loosening one screw and tightening the other the axial distance between plate cylinder and impression cylinder may be given the usual impression adjustment, as required.

The modified structure shown in Figs. 7-10 utilizes a unitary frame in which the arch and legs are integral with each other, and provision is made for shifting the cylinder axes and other elements as required for converting from tubular plate cylinder operation to standard plate cylinder operation. As stated the legs 210 of the frame structure and arch 211 are formed integral instead of being divided as in the construction previously discussed. The impression cylinder 212, printing cylinder 213 and ink motion element 214, 215 may be the same as in the embodiment of Figs. 14, as well as the gearing. The impression cylinder 212 is supported in the structure of Figs. 7 and 8 by means of bearings 220 fitting in bores 221, the space around the bores being closed off by cover plate 222 and washer 223. The bore 239 positioned below the bore 221 is provided for supporting the impression cylinder when the unit is used with a tubular plate cylinder, as later described.

The plate cylinder bearing is supported in a bore 232 formed in a circular or cylindrical plug 233 which fits in a bore 234 in the frame, and the bore 232 is closed off by a cover plate and washer 235, 236. The bore 232 is eccentric to bore 234, so that the plug 233 forms an eccentric bushing which may be used for adjusting the impression. Screws 240 and 241 abutting in notches 244 and 245 formed in the plug 233 may be utilized for this purpose, being received in threaded bores 242 and 243 in the frame and locked in adjusted position as by means of lock nuts 246 and 247. The plug or eccentric bushing 233 may be further locked in adjusted position by means of wedge elements 252 operated by means of a screw 250 received in a bore 251. p The details of this later mechanism are shown in prior Harless et al. application Serial No. 312,618, filed October 1, 1952, for Impression Adjusting Mechanism for Printing Presses, now Patent No. 2,743,672, and will not be further described herein as they form no part of the present invention.

The unit arranged for tubular plate cylinders is shown in Figs. 9 and 10. In this case the impression cylinder 212 has been relocated in the lower bore 230, and the standard plate cylinder has been replaced by a tubular plate cylinder 213' carried in a plug 233 similar to the plug 233 but having an annular opening 260 for permitting insertion and removal of the tubular plate. A neck or rib 261 which is accommodated by the gap in the tubular plate, supports the central part of the plug from the outer part thereof. As will be understood, at the drive end (Figs. 11 and 12) no such aperture will be necessary and the plug at that end may merely be rotated through about 180 to relocate the cylinder axis in desired position.

The gear arrangement at the drive end in the structure of Figs. 7-10 may be the same as that described in connection with Figs. 1-4 or may take any desired form, and in general the same gears (with the exception of the plate cylinder gear) may be used in either the converted or unconverted unit, gearing not carried by the cylinder shafts being relocated wherever necessary.

Referring first to Fig. 11, and in which the gearing is generally the same as that shown in Fig. 1, including the larger and smaller gears 16 and 27, coaxial with the impression cylinder, idle intermediate gear 29, plate cylinder drive gear 30 and gearing 31, 32 for driving the ink motion, vertical shaft 23 and associated gearing and housing therefor may be the same as in the structure of Fig. 1. As in the case of the operating end structure, however, the frame is not split or divided into upper and lower sections, but is provided with suitable openings for locating the cylinder shafts and associated gearing in the desired manner. There are thus upper and lower bores 221 and 230 for supporting the impression cylinder bearing in two different locations and an hourglass of keyhole shaped opening 231 for accommodating the idle gear 29 in either of two spaced locations. This gear is supported by a bracket B removably bolted to the frame, as indicated.

The cylindrical plug 233 which supports the plate cylinder bearing atthe drive end may be identical to that shown in Figs. 7 and 8 or different therefrom only in the size of bearing accommodated. The drive end of the unit, when adapted for tubular plate operation, is shown in Fig. 12. It will be observed that the impression cylinder has been dropped down so as to be supported in the bore 230 to decrease the distance from gear 16 to ink motion gear 31 in the top half, so that both gears may engage properly with the drive gear for the tubular plate cylinder. Since the plate is not inserted or removed at this end, the plug 233 may be used without change, being merely rotated through the necessary angle by relocating the plate cylinder axis. Idle gear 29 and its bracket B are shifted to a location up above the impression cylinder 16, the gear now being accommodated in the upper half of the opening 231. The same vertical shaft and housing changes are made as already described with reference to the structure of Figs. 1 through 4.

For maximum interchangeability of parts, it is essential that the two locations provided for the impression cylinder support be vertically aligned in a two-couple arch-type unit of the general type disclosed, and the pitch circle of the gear 16 must be brought down to a point where it approaches the first ink drum gear 32 so as to permit meshing of a plate cylinder gear of half the previous diameter with the impression cylinder gear and with the intermediate gear 31.

What is claimed is:

1. A printing machine comprising in combination, a frame structure, an impression cylinder, a tubular plate cylinder and an ink motion supported in cooperating relation by the frame structure, the plate cylinder support comprising a block supported in the frame and in turn supporting a plate cylinder bearing, the said block and frame having cooperating surfaces for supporting the block in a predetermined position for holding the bearing in an operating position relative to the ink motion for inking of the plate cylinder thereby, and the said block having a further surface for supporting the block in an angularly changed position upon the said frame structure surface, the distance from the plate cylinder axis supported in the said block to the first said block surface and said further block surface being different, whereby the position of the said bearing relative to the ink motion is altered for holding a standard plate cylinder of about twice the diameter of the said tubular plate cylinder in cooperating relation thereto.

2. A printing machine according to claim 1 comprising also means for supporting the said impression cylinder in two different positions for cooperation with the said tubular plate cylinder and standard plate cylinder respectively.

3. A printing machine according to claim 2, in which the frame structure has bearing-supporting spaced bores forming the said means for supporting the impression cylinder.

4. A printing machine according to claim 3 having also drive gearing comprising a gear supported by the impression cylinder shaft and coaxial therewith, a meshing gear, and means on the frame structure for supporting the said meshing gear, the last said means comprising a support for holding the gear in position for meshing with the first mentioned gear when the impression cylinder is carried by one of the said bores and in a second position for so meshing when the impression cylinder is carried by the other of the said bores, the two said gear positions being displaced in the opposite direction to each other by comparison with the said bores.

5. A printing machine comprising in combination, a frame structure, an impression cylinder, a tubular plate cylinder and an ink motion supported in cooperating relation by the frame structure, the plate cylinder support comprising a cylindrical block rotatively supported in a bore in the frame and in turn eccentrically supporting a plate cylinder bearing, the said block having an aperture for insertion and removal of tubular plates and being angularly movable between a position supporting the said plate cylinder in cooperative relation to the ink motion and a second position for supporting a standard plate cylinder of about twice the diameter in cooperative relation to said ink motion.

6. A printing machine according to claim 5, comprising also means for rotatively adjusting the said block to vary the impression.

7. A convertible printing machine set comprising a lower frame structure for supporting ink motion components, two interchangeable upper frame structures, and means for mounting either of the upper frame structures, as desired, on the lower frame structure, one upper frame structure comprising means for supporting an impression cylinder and a plate cylinder in cooperating relation thereto and to the ink motion components of the lower frame structure and the second frame structure comprising means for supporting the same impression cylinder and a tubular plate cylinder of half the diameter of the first said plate cylinder, with the said tubular plate cylinder in cooperating relation to the impression cylinder and to the said ink motion components of the lower frame structure.

8. A convertible printing machine set comprising a lower frame structure for supporting ink motion components including an ink motion drive gear, two interchangeable upper frame structures, and means for mounting either of the upper frame structures, as desired, on the lower frame structure, one upper frame structure comprising means for supporting an impression cylinder and its coaxial gear and a plate cylinder and coaxial gear in cooperating relation to each other and to the ink motion components of the lower frame structure with the plate cylinder coaxial gear in mesh with the said ink motion drive gear, and the second frame structure comprising means for supporting the same impression cylinder and coaxial gear and a tubular plate cylinder and coaxial gear of half the diameter of the first said plate cylinder and its coaxial gear, with the said tubular plate cylinder in cooperation with the impression cylinder and ink motion components of the lower frame structure and with the coaxial gear of the said tubular plate cylinder in mesh with the said ink motion drive gear.

9. An arch-type printing machine comprising a frame structure, right and left hand printing couples and asso ciated inking mechanisms supported by the frame structure, the impression cylinders of the two said printing couples being positioned adjacent each other in the upper middle part of the structure and carrying meshing gears upon their shafts for coupling the two couples together; the ink motions being supported in the frame structure below the said impression cylinders and out wardly thereof, the plate cylinders of the two said cou ples being tubular plate cylinders supported in cooperating relationship to their respective ink motions and impression cylinders, the frame structure having apertures for insertion and removal of tubular plates and having means radially inward of the said apertures supporting the tubular plate cylinders in positions such that they are substantially directly over the ink motions and engage their respective impression cylinders about midway between vertical and horizontal planes through the im pression cylinder axes, whereby conversion to operation with standard printing cylinders may be effected by raising the impression cylinders, while leaving their axes in the same vertical axial planes, and replacing the plate cylinders with standard plate cylinders of greater diameter, and access to the said standard plate cylinders for plating and removing substantially semi-cylindrical plates will be available between the lines of engagement of the ink motions with such standard plate cylinders and the lines of engagement of the impression cylinders therewith.

10. In a printing unit for a multi-unit printing machine, first frame members rotatably supporting inking rollers and driving mechanism therefor, and second frame members rotatably supporting an impression cylinder and a plate cylinder adapted to hold a tubular printing plate for cooperation with the inking rollers and with the impression cylinder to print a web, the said first and second frame members forming rigid frame structures and an enclosure for the driving mechanism, the said second frame members with the plate and impression cylinders being conveniently separable from the first frame members and replaceable by third frame members for rotatably supporting the impression cylinder and a plate cylinder, arranged to hold semi-cylindrical printing plates, in position to engage the inking rollers and to cooperate with the impression cylinder to print a web, the said third frame members cooperating with the first frame members to form continuous frames for supporting the driving mechanism.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,901,075 Bechman Mar. 14, 1933 1,991,716 Wood Feb. 19, 1935 2,090,939 Crafts et a1 Aug. 24, 1937 2,104,737 Dean Jan. 11, 1938 2,216,562 Barber Oct. 1, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS 490,994 Germany Feb. 5, 1930 

